Mmo2 to launch i-mode in UK

MOBILE group mmO2 and giant Japanese telcom NTT DoCoMo today signed a deal allowing mmO2 to launch the i-mode internet service in Britain, Germany and Ireland.

The deal brings DoCoMo back to Britain just six months after it sold its 20% stake in 3 UK.

DoCoMo will assist mmO2 with data distribution and content development, the company said in a statement to the Tokyo stock exchange.

The i-mode service was developed by DoCoMo and gives users email, games, ring tones and limited web access to specialised mobile phones. It is DoCoMo's second-attempt to bring the technology-to Britain, after failing to sell the idea to then partner Hutchison Whampoa's 3 UK.

DoCoMo and mmO2 said the service in Britain and Ireland would start in the second half of 2005 and a similar service under the mmO2 brand will begin in Germany in the following year.

DoCoMo launched i-mode in Japan in 1998 but has had slow results in overseas sales of the technology, which only works on specific mobile phones and offers limited access to the internet, although sales have been building up. Australia's Telstra and Israel's largest mobile-phone company, Cellcom Israel, are the latest to come on board.

DoCoMo now claims 45m subscribers in 10 countries, although more than 40m of them are based in Japan.

The service is on offer through other networks in France, Greece, and Italy.

MmO2 says i-mode would be available in Britain on a wide selection of advanced handsets and devices from most major phone makers.

DoCoMo's i-mode gives mobile phone users access to 84,000 specially-formatted websites, as well as specialised services such as email, online shopping and banking, ticket reservations, and restaurant advice. Under the Japanese model, subscribers are charged for the service based on the volume of data transmitted.

In Japan, some 160 financial institutions joined online banking through i-mode and the latest version allows for an interface with car navigation systems.

Both i-mode and WAP use similar architecture but while WAP is primarily aimed at businessmen, i-mode is a proprietary product of DoCoMo created as an entertainment platform.